^/O,/ 


-7 


LIBER  A  I.  EDUCATION  A  NECESSITY  OF  THE  CnURCII. 


1)1  S  COURSE, 


PKLIVKUKI)    AT    TIIK 


^i 


irtccntlj  ^^uuibcrarir 


SOCIETY  FOR  THE  PROMOTION  OF  COLLEGIATE  AND  THEOLOGICAL 
EDUCATION  AT  THE  WEST. 


CONGREGATIONAL    CHURCH,    ALBANY,   NEW  YORK, 
October  2dTiT,  1859. 

•  BY 

JONATHAN   F.    STEARNS,   D.D. 

PASTOR  or  TUE  FIKST  PKESBYTERIAN  CllUnCU,  NEWARK,  N.  J. 


NEW  YORK: 
JOHN     F.     TROW,    PRINTER, 

3  7  7    &    3  7  9    BROADWAY. 
18C0. 


LIRKIIAL  EDCCATIOX  A  XKCESSITY  OF  THE  CHURCH, 


1)1  S  COURSE, 


PELIVERK.D    AT    THE 


^irtfcnll]  ^luiiljcrsiirn 


OF   THE 


SOCIETY  FOR  THE  PROMOTION  OF  COLLEniATE  AXD  THEOLOGICAL 
EDUCATION  AT  THE  WEST. 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH,   ALBANY,   NEW  YORK, 
October  2otii,  1859. 

•  BY 

JONATHAN   F.    STEARNS,   D.D. 

PA6T0K  or  TUE  FIHST  PRESBYTERIAN  ClirRClI,  NEWARK,  N.  J. 


NEW  YORK: 
JOHN     F.     TROW,     PRINTER, 

Z11    k    379    BROADWAY. 
18G0. 


"  On  motion,  the  thanks  of  the  Board  were  presented  to  Rev.  Dr. 
Stearns,  for  his  Sermon  preached  last  evening,  and  a  copy  requested 
for  publication." 

An  extract  from  the  Minutes  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Directors 
of  the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Collegiate  and  Theological  Educa- 
tion at  the  West,  at  their  Annual  Meeting  at  Albany,  New  York,  Oc- 
tober 2Gth,  1859. 

JonN  Spaulding,  Recording  Secretary. 


DISCOUKSE. 


Moses  was  Icnrncd  in  all   tho  wisdom  of  llio  Egyptians. — Acra 
vii.  22. 

Wiii'N  God  has  a  special  work  to  perform  He 
knows  how  to  prepare  the  instruments  to  be  cm- 
ployed  in  it.  Ill  tlie  days  of  the  captivity  in  Egypt, 
He  had  it  in  His  mind  to  make  a  great  religious  na- 
tion out  of  a  race  of  ignorant  slaves  ;  therefore  He 
saw  fit  to  educate  their  leader  in  all  precxistent 
learning,  and  thus  lay  broad  and  deep  the  founda- 
tion on  wliich  to  rear  the  superstructure  of  new 
thouglits  and  sentiments. 

Moses  was  a  divine  lawgiver,  an  inspired  reli- 
gious teacher.  The  object  of  his  life  was  to  teach 
the  Hebrew  people  to  know,  love  and  serve  the 
livinf^  and  true  God,  of  whom  all  tlie  heathen  na- 
tions  were  ignorant.  And  yet  Moses,  be  it  remem- 
bered, for  there  is  important  instruction  in  the  fact, 
was  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians. 
The  erreat  Head  of  the  ancient  Church  sent  him  to 
that  school,  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  that  very  pagan  literature  and  science, 


which,  in  their  pagan  forms,  were  to  be  wholly  su- 
perseded. Egypt  was  then,  and  for  many  centu- 
ries, the  school  of  the  world.  Thither  old  Homer 
was  said  to  have  repaired  to  gather  materials  for  his 
songs;  Herodotus  journeyed  thither  to  collect  the 
dim  traditions  of  the  past  for  his  history  ;  Lycurgus 
and  Solon  to  learn  the  principles  of  legislation ;  and 
Thales,  Pythagoras,  and  Plato  to  be  instructed  in  the 
sublime  mysteries  of  philosophy.  Thence  were  de- 
rived some  of  the  seminal  principles  of  Grecian  learn- 
ing, art  and  civilization.  And  thither  the  God  ot 
Israel  sent  Moses,  as  to  the  best  college  of  his  day, 
to  gather  up  all  that  was  good  in  the  traditional 
knowledofe  and  culture  of  the  ancient  Avorld. 

Something  similar  to  this  took  place  in  the  case 
of  the  Apostle  Paul.  He  was  appointed  as  the  ex- 
pounder of  a  heaven-descended  faith — a  faith  which 
stood,  not  in  the  wisdom  of  man  but  in  the  power 
of  God.  And  yet,  under  the  direction  of  Divine 
Providence,  he  was  not  only  brought  up  at  the  feet 
of  Gamaliel,  the  most  renowned  Jewish  teacher  of 
his  day,  and  so  thoroughly  trained  in  all  Jewish 
lore ;  but  introduced,  probably  in  the  schools  of 
Tarsus,  to  an  acquaintance  with  the  literature  of 
Pagan  Greece,  and,  by  his  free  birth  as  a  Roman 
citizen,  initiated  early  into  the  principles  of  Roman 
law.  It  is  true,  not  many  wise,  as  well  as  not  many 
mighty  and  noble,  were  called  to  take  part  in  the 
first  planting  of  Christianity ;  yet  to  the  untaught 
among  the  apostles  was  the  gift  of  tongues  commu- 
nicated on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  And  Avhat  God 
himself  interposed  to  furnish  in  the  age  of  miracles. 


may  be  taken  as  a  symbol  of  wliat  the  Church  should 
aim  at  in  her  subsequent  and  more  regular  arrange- 
ments. 

The  present  age  presents  to  the  cfibrts  of  the 
Cliureh  a  work  second  to  none  in  the  entire  history  of 
humanity.  God  has  assigned  the  task  to  our  own  sec- 
tion of  it  to  raise  up  in  this  new  and  vast  land  a  form  of 
Christian  civilization  and  social  life,  a  state,  a  nation, 
a  branch  of  the  Church  universal,  fitted  to  perform 
no  mean  part  in  the  great  drama  of  His  purposes. 
Nor  only  this.  This  mighty  host,  this  grand  corps 
cTarmee  in  the  great  army  of  righteousness  is  not 
only  to  be  mustered  and  equipped  and  disciplined, 
but  led  on  con(|uering  and  to  conquer  among  the 
nations,  under  the  standard  of  the  Captain  of  our 
Salvation.  In  such  a  work  the  Church  needs  men 
of  no  limited  or  superficial  training.  She  needs 
men  of  breadth,  men  of  i)rofound  and  varied  know- 
ledge, men  of  well  disciplined  powers,  men  of 
quick,  versatile  and  practised  faculties.  She  needs 
and  must  have,  at  least  among  the  leaders  of  the  en- 
terprise, clerical  or  lay,  men  of  liberal  education  in 
the  truest,  fullest  acceptation  of  the  words.  The 
diffusion  of  knowledge,  characteristic  of  our  times, 
can  scarcely  be  over  estimated,  liut  besides  this, 
and  partly  because  of  this,  advanced  knowledge, 
and  such  mental  culture  as  the  mass  of  men  under 
the  best  circumstances  cannot  be  expected  to  ac- 
quire, is,  for  the  teachers  and  leaders  of  the  age,  an 
indispensable  requisite. 

The  furnishing  of  this  sort  of  education  is  the 
special    object  for  which  colleges   are  established. 


With  reference,  therefore,  to  our  duty  in  sustaining, 
and,  as  opportunity  may  ofl'er,  availing  ourselves  of 
the  benefit  of  such  institutions  for  ourselves  or  our 
children,  it  seems  proper  that  I  should  attempt  to 
define  the  nature  and  aim  of  such  education, 
and  shew  why  the  Church  needs  it  for  a  portion  of 
her  members,  and  on  whom  she  must  depend  to 
afford  the  requisite  facilities. 

I.  What  then  are  we  to  understand  by  a  liberal, 
in  distinction  from  all  other  sorts  of  education  ? 
The  term  is  an  ancient  one.  Among  the  Romans 
it  was  appropriated  to  those  departments  of  study 
which  seemed  adapted  to  men  of  leisure  and  easy 
circumstances,  who  could  pursue  learning  for  learn- 
ing's sake,  and  had  no  necessity  to  reduce  all  their 
knowledge  to  immediate  practice.  This  class  were 
denominated  liherales,  and  the  education  they  pur- 
sued was  called  liberal,  both  from  its  supposed 
adaptation  to  their  condition,  and  to  denote  its  am- 
plitude or  freedom  from  a  servile  aim.  With  us 
all  education  is  designed  for  use,  and  the  highest 
especially  so,  though  its  uses  may  seem  at  first  less 
obvious.  By  a  liberal  education,  I  understand  one 
that  is  radical  in  distinction  from  superficial — a 
planting  of  the  deep,  strong,  vital  roots  instead  of 
gathering  the  blossoms  of  the  tree  of  knowledge, 
and  one  that  is  general  and  comprehensive  in  dis- 
tinction from  specific  and  restricted — a  training  of 
the  whole  man  rather  than  some  single  faculty,  an 
introduction  to  the  entire  domain  of  thought  in- 
stead of  the  exclusive  pursuit  of  a  particular  de- 
partment,  that  which  confers  upon  its  f\ivored  ob- 


ject  tlic  comj)lctc  freedom  of  tiic  city,  instead  of  fit- 
ting liini  up  comfortable  lodgings  in  some  narrow 
corner. 

There  is  an  education  which  prepares  men  for 
a  particular  profession.  The  practical  lawyer  must 
be  educated  in  the  principles  and  rules  of  legal 
practice,  the  physician  in  those  pertaining  to  the 
practice  of  medicine,  the  Christian  pastor  in  what 
relates  immediately  to  the  service  of  the  pulpit  and 
the  cure  of  souls.  And  so  with  those  who  devote 
themselves  to  a  particular  science  or  branch  of  lite- 
rature. So  with  the  man  of  business.  Such  an 
education  is  like  that  of  the  apprentice,  having  for 
its  object  the  ability  to  perform  well  the  particular 
processes  of  his  trade.  If  extended,  in  any  case, 
beyond  the  boundaries  of  professional  service,  it  is 
only  as  the  seaman  finds  it  well  to  acquaint  himself 
with  mathematics  for  its  use  in  nautical  calculations, 
or  the  mechanic  and  manufacturer  with  the  laws  of 
physical  forces  or  the  principles  of  chemical  science. 
The  object  is  not  knowledge  simply,  but  knowledge 
for  a  specific  end,  not  the  improvement  of  the  mind 
as  a  whole,  but  its  adaptation  to  the  performance  of 
a  definite  work. 

Such  an  education  I  by  no  means  wis!i  to  dis- 
parage. It  is  important.  It  is  necessary.  Many, 
unquestionably,  perform  a  noble  part  in  usefulness 
to  their  fellow-men  and  service  to  the  cause  of 
Christ,  without  attempting  to  secure  for  themselves 
any  thing  further.  Only,  I  wish  to  distinguish  it 
from  what  is  properly  to  be  denominated  liberal 
education.     The  object  of  that  is  to  furnish  the  key 


8 

of  all  knowledge  in  whatever  department,  and  de- 
velop and  perfect  all  the  powers  in  their  symme- 
trical proportions. 

The  question  is  often  raised,  What  is  the  use  of 
such  an  education?  What,  for  example,  is  the  use 
of  Latin  and  Greek  among  a  people  wdio  speak  only 
English  ?  What  is  the  use  of  Astronomy  to  those 
who  neither  intend  to  foretell  eclipses  nor  journey 
among  the  stars  ?  In  simple  words.  Why  should  a 
man  spend  time  and  strength  in  getting  knowledge 
which  he  may  never  have  occasion  to  reduce  to 
practice  ?  The  answer  to  this  question  is  obvious. 
The  immediate  object  of  these  studies  is  not  prac- 
tice, but  ability.  If  there  is  a  species  of  education 
fitted  to  give  to  a  man's  faculties  their  highest  per- 
fection, and  to  the  endow^ments  with  which  God 
has  favored  him  their  largest  scope  and  efficiency  ; 
to  open  in  the  soul  avenues  of  light  from  every 
quarter,  and  enable  it  to  perceive  not  only  the  spe- 
cific end  which  it  may  at  any  time  have  in  view, 
but  the  relations  and  bearings  of  that  end  in  all 
their  complicated  ramifications  through  space  and 
time  and  into  the  depths  of  infinity ;  to  place  the 
mind  in  a  posture  to  pursue  truth,  not  in  this  or  that 
particular  direction,  but  in  all  possible  directions, 
as  the  exigences  of  the  world  may  require,  it  seems 
manifest  on  the  slightest  inspection,  that  they  who 
have  it  possess  immense  advantages.  They,  other 
things  being  the  same,  will  be  the  true  lords  in  the 
realm  of  thought  and  the  true  leaders  of  the  world's 
progress.  And  docs  not  Christianity,  does  not  the 
Church    require,  among  the  instruments  of  her  sta- 


bility  iinil  progress,  a  class  of  inoii  thus  tniiiica  and 
instructed  ? 

1  r.  Briefly  to  answer  this  question  will  be  my 
object  in  the  second  place. 

And  hero  let  me  revert  to  a  fact  already  hinted 
at,  that  the  Chuvii  in  all  ages  has  borne  her  practi- 
cal testimony  to  the  adirmativc  of  this  question. 
The  cases  of  Moses  and  Paul  during  the  period  of 
inspiration  were  followed  by  a  long  line  of  corre- 
sponding cases  in  the  subsequent  ages.     Such  names 
as  Jerome  and  Augustine  and  Chrysostom  and  Origeu 
and  Tertullian  stand  amidst  a  host  of  others  as  monu- 
ments of  the  value  and  influence  of  learned  men  in 
the  early  Church.     By  such  men  was  the  battle  with 
paganism  fought  successfully.     By  such  men  was 
the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  developed  in 
its  systematic  relations  and  the  Scriptures  translated 
and  expounded  for  the  use  of  the  people.     They 
were  men  who  understood  languages,  were  familiar 
with  Jewish  and  pagan  law,  and  had  sounded  the  ob- 
scure depths  of  pagan  philosophy.     Nor  is  it  easy 
to  over-estimate  the  service  which  such  men  per- 
formed, not  for  their  own  times  only,  but  for  ours. 
The  works  of  Athanasius  and  Augustine  .still  shed  a 
flood  of  light  on  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus;  and  wc 
are  enjoying  at  this  day  the  benefit  of  their  learning 
-their  acquaintance,  I  may  say,  with  heathen  litera- 
ture and  philosophy,  in  the  beautiful  and  exact  state- 
ments of  Christian  doctrine,  which  now  lie  familiar 
as  household  words  on  the  pages  of  our  catechism. 
Not  that  they  transferred  pagan  philosophy  into  the 
Christian  creed— so  far  as  any  of  them  did  that,  they 


10 

did  the  Gospel  a  wrong.  But  that  philosophy 
helped  them  to  perceive  where  lay  the  dangers  to 
which  the  human  mind  is  most  exposed  in  its  in- 
quiries for  truth,  and  what  were  the  avenues  of 
error  which  most  needed  to  be  guarded. 

Even  during  that  long  and  gloomy  period  pro- 
verbially denominated  the  dark  ages,  when  classic 
literature  and  refinement,  having  grown  prurient 
through  pagan  immorality,  had  been  overborne 
and  trampled  down  by  barbarian  rudeness,  and 
Christian  truth,  as  yet  but  partially  apprehended,  had 
not  gained  such  ascendency  over  the  minds  and 
habits  of  men  as  to  produce  a  civilization  and  a  social 
culture  properly  its  own,  intellectual  light  was  pre- 
served from  being  quite  extinguished,  more  by  the 
fact  that  the  Church,  even  in  her  degeneracy,  believed 
that  learning  ought  to  be  cherished,  and  learned  men 
enlisted  in  her  service,  than  from  any  other  cause. 
And  it  was  chiefly  because  the  learning  of  those  same 
men  was  not  more  ample  and  varied,  more  liberal  in 
the  best  sense  of  that  term,  that  it  became  subservient 
to  so  great  an  extent  to  the  cause  of  a  corrupt  Chris- 
tianity. It  deserves  particular  notice,  that  the  first 
dawnings  of  a  better  day — a  day  which  rose  in 
splendor  at  the  breaking  in  of  the  Protestant  Refor- 
mation, were  to  be  discovered  in  tlie  recurrence  to 
departments  of  old  classic  literature  which,  for  a  long 
time,  had  been  left  in  neglect.  The  chains  of  scho- 
lastic and  papal  divinity,  riveted  as  they  were  by  an 
exclusive  adherence  to  the  Aristotelian  philosophy, 
were  just  loosened  by  the  revival  of  classic  studies 
in  general,  and  the  philosophy  of  Plato  in  particular. 


11 

And  thus  it  was  that  men  were  loci  back  to  the  study 
of  the  Scri[)tures  in  their  orif^inal  hmgungcs,  and  to 
athoroup^h  reexamination  of  the  whole  system  of  Gos 
pel  doctrine.  WicklifTe  and  IIuss  of  the  earlier  day, 
Erasmus^  Luther,  Mclancthon,  Calvin  and  Beza  were 
learned  men  ;  and  their  learning,  under  God,  was  the 
chief  weapon  with  which  they  fought  the  mighty 
forces  of  the  papacy,  entrenched  as  that  foe  was  be- 
hind a  system  of  most  inveterate  prejudices,  and 
institutions  strengthened  by  self-interest  and  de- 
fended by  power.  Thus  were  they  successful  in 
letting  in  the  light  of  day  upon  the  dungeons  of 
error,  and  giving  back  the  precious  Bible  and  the 
glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God  to  a  world 
enslaved  and  spoiled  of  its  best  treasure. 

I  know  indeed  that  learned  men  sometimes  go 
astray  from  tlic  simplicity  of  the  true  faith.  Ex- 
amples of  the  fact  may  be  found  all  down  the  history 
of  Christianity.  Infidelity,  in  all  its  shapes,  has  its 
learned  champions.  Heresy  has  found  its  chief  sup- 
port in  the  subtle  reasonings  of  learned  men.  But 
this  fiict  does  but  make  the  necessity  of  well-directed 
and  sanctified  learning  the  more  apparent.  You 
cannot  refute  and  put  down  fixlsehood,  unless  you 
know  thoroughly  the  basis  on  which  it  has  erected 
itself  It  is  perfect  folly  to  stand  by  in  cold  dignity 
and  say  the  Gospel  is  true  and  divine,  and  needs  no 
defence.  The  truth  may  stand.  But  sinful  men, 
led  away  by  the  devices  of  Satan,  will  refuse  to  stand 
by  it.  And  if  you  would  save  men  from  error,  you 
have  got  to  refute  its  boastful  sophistries.  If  the 
attack    is  made  from   the  department  of  geology, 


12 

somebody  must  know  geology  in  order  to  wrest  from 
the  foe  that  stronghold.  If  from  physiology  or  natural 
history,  somebody  must  have  acquaintance  enough 
with  those  sciences  to  show  them  to  be  where  they 
truly  are,  on  the  side  of  truth,  and  not  of  infidelity ; 
if  from  philosophy,ancient  or  modern,  French,  English 
or  German,  somebody  must  have  so  mastered  the  sub- 
tiltiesof  that  philosophy,  as  to  discover  the  secrets  of 
its  power  and  be  able  to  expose  its  false  pretensions. 
Nor  will  any  partial  or  restricted  education,  any  ex- 
clusive devotion  to  a  particular  science,  qualify  a  man 
to  perform  successfully  this  service.  There  is  a  com- 
mon bond,  as  an  old  master  of  learning  has  said,  among 
all  the  branches  of  knowledge.  And  the  principles^ 
at  least,  of  them  all  must  be  understood,  if  we  would 
defend  truth  when  attacked  on  one  side,  without  the 
risk  of  opening  a  new  breach  to  the  foe  on  some  other. 
It  has  been  the  grand  mischief  attendant  on  the  sin- 
cere efforts  of  some  eminently  scientific  men,  that  for 
want  of  a  more  broad,  systematic  and  radical  training, 
they  have  given  arguments  to  the  unbeliever  in  the 
very  act  of  taking  others  out  of  his  hands. 

The  Church  needs  men  of  this  sort  of  education, 
to  lead  or  pour  their  influence  into  every  depart- 
ment of  Christian  civilization.  For,  be  it  observed, 
Christian  civilization.  Christian  society  and  a  Chris- 
tian State  are  both  the  natural  product  and  the  in- 
dispensable instruments  of  Christian  piety.  They 
are,  so  to  speak,  the  crystallized  results  of  the  Church's 
influence,  and  to  be  cherished,  purified,  and  directed 
to  the  wisest  ends  with  the  same  jealous  care  as  her 
own  proper  organization.     She  needs  men  of  this 


13 

stamp  in  the  cliiiir  of  magistracy,  on  the  bench  of 
justice  and  at  the  bar,  in  the  houses  of  legislation,  on 
the  stage  of  public  debate  or  popular  harangue,  in 
the  editorial  sanctum  or  the  author's  closet,  among 
the  leaders  of  popular  education,  and  at  the  head  of 
all  sorts  of  great  enter[)rises  of  benevolence  and 
social  improvement.  To  be  a  statesman,  for  ex- 
ample, in  the  noblest  sense,  there  is  need  of  some- 
thing more  than  a  familiarity  with  politics.  There 
must  be  also  an  acquaintance  with  the  history  of 
states,  and  the  })rinciples  on  which  social  order  and 
the  intercourse  of  communities  rest.  There  must  be 
a  profound  knowledge  of  human  nature,  individual 
and  social,  intellectual,  moral  and  religious.  There 
must  be  a  true  and  profound  knowledge  of  the  laws 
of  God,  the  principles  on  which  this  vast  universe  is 
built.  Maxims  and  precedents  may  guide  a  man  in 
ordinary  circumstances.  Shrewd  practical  common 
sense  may  avail  in  many  cases.  But  exigences  wil 
arise  requiring  a  resort  to  first  principles.  And  then 
only  he  is  adequate  to  the  position,  who,  with  practi- 
cal judgment,  based  on  observation  and  experience, 
combines  a  large  share  of  comprehensive  and  radical 
knowledge.  lie  must  know  principles  as  principles, 
and  have  some  acquaintance  with  their  mode  of  de- 
velopment, not  only  in  the  particular  sphere  in 
which  he  is  now  required  to  apply  them,  but  in 
others  whose  connection  with  that  is  to  be  found 
only  in  the  princif)les. 

But  while  it  is  true  that,  in  all  the  great  depart- 
ments of  her  service,  the  Church  has  need  of  men 
liberally  educated,  preeminently  true  is  it  in  the  de- 


14 

partrncDt    of    religion,   specifically    so    called.     No 
science  occupies  so  central  a  position  or  is  so  inti- 
mately and   widely   related  as   that   of   Theology; 
history,  philology,  natural  science,  mental  and  ethi- 
cal philosophy,  the  science  of  law  and  government — 
all  have  a  direct  and  manifest  relation  to  it ;  so  that  an 
error  in  either  of  these  departments  produces  error 
or  raises  doubts  or  difficulties  in  that.      Theology 
has  been  said  justly  to  be  the  science  of  sciences, 
the  science  of  those  deeper  first  principles,  out  of 
which,  what  are  esteemed  first  principles  in  all  the 
others  have  their  beginnings.     Hence,  in  order  to  be 
well   versed  in   theology,  especially  to  be   a  com- 
petent theological  teacher,  a  man  must  be  able  to 
take  a  wide   range  among  all  the   departments  of 
human  thought.     I  might  point,  were  it  desirable,  to 
some  notable  instances  of  defective  systems  of  theo- 
logy, framed  .by  good  men  and  displaying  eminent 
genius,  whose  defects,  vitiating  all  their  excellences, 
could   be   traced  plainly  enough,   to  some  want  of 
breadth  and  comprehensiveness  in  the  mental  train- 
ing or  attainments  of  those  who  composed  them.    Had 
certain    truths    of    which  they    are    ignorant  been 
once    communicated    to    them,    had     their    minds 
traversed   certain   fields   of   thought  of  Avhich  they 
now  seem  to  have  no  conception,  such  positions  as 
they  take  and  hold  would  at  once  have  been  aban- 
doned.    The  Church  will  never  reach  that  most  de- 
sirable of  attainments,  a  full-orbed  system  of  Chris- 
tian  truth,  till  our  theologians  are  able,  through  a 
more  complete  mental  culture  and  intellectual  furnish- 
ing, to  contemplate  the  doctrines  of  their  faith  more 


15 


comi.rcl>ensivcly  as  well  as  radically,  in  their  wide 
and  manifold  relations. 

The  service  of  the  preacher  and   pastor  finds 
occasion  for,  if  it  does  not  indispensably  require  an 
education  as  complete  if  not  as  profound  as  that  ot 
the    theologian.      The  men  who   have  moved  the 
world  most  dccplv  an.l  produced  the  most  lasting 
impressions  upon  the  hearts  of  the  people  have  not 
usually  been  men  of  small  or  confined  knowledge. 
Not  such  was  Whitclicld  or  Wesley,  Baxter  or  Ld- 
wards.     Our  missionaries  in  foreign  lands  have  met 
with   a   success   unrivalled    if  not  unparalleled,  in 
their  efforts   to  impress  Christian  truth   upon    the 
minds    and  hearts  of   the    most    diversified  speci 
mens  of  the  human  race,  because,  unlike  those  who 
have    been    sent   out   by  some  other    missionary 
associations,  they  have    been  generally  above   the 
ordinary  rank,  both  in   ability  and  learning       The 
churches  of  America  have  not  acted  upon  the  prin- 
ciple of  sending  abroad  those  who  were  too  igno- 
rant  to  be  useful  at  home,  but  have  in  genera   culled 
their  choice  men,  and  had  them  trained  in  the  best 
manner  which  the  facilities  of  the  country  would 
allou'      Hence  they  have  been  at  once  respected  by 
forei-n  sojourners  in  their  fields  of  labor,  and,  by 
the  "race  of  God,  made  deep  and  lasting  impres- 
sions  on  some  of  the  strongest,  as  well  as  the  most 
suscei.tiblo  minds,  of  their  respective  communities. 

In  a  special  manner  the  exigences  of  the  pre- 
sent a-e  demand  this  chiss  of  scholars  both  for  the 
defen  °e  and  promulgation  of  the  Christian  faith.  It 
is  with  us  an  age  of  unparalleled  mental  activity.     A 


16 

spirit  of  inquiry  has  been  aroused,  and  truth  is 
questioned  for  its  credentials  from  every  quarter. 
New  sciences,  or  new  discoveries  in  science,  are 
continually  breaking  in  upon  us,  which  demand, 
with  a  tone  of  authority,  that  religion  should  either 
bow  before  them  or  reduce  them  to  her  service. 
There  is,  besides,  growing  up  around  us  a  vast  and 
powerful  democratic  nation.  All  sorts  of  elements 
are  included  in  it,  and  all  forms  of  thought  ever  gen- 
erated in  any  portion  of  the  world  go  to  make  up 
its  public  opinion.  The  men  who  are  to  instruct 
such  a  people  and  bring  them  to  accept,  in  spite  of 
all  their  prejudices  and  their  lawless  self-confidence, 
a  religion  that  shall  control  and  mould  them,  must 
be  no  novices.  Meanwhile,  all  the  world  seems 
opening  to  receive  the  arguments  and  feel  the  influ- 
ence of  Christian  truth.  All  forms  of  error,  super- 
stition, infidelity  and  paganism,  are  coming  into  im- 
mediate contact  and  uncompromising  conflict  with 
the  relif>:ion  of  Jesus.  And  what  sort  of  men  must 
they  be  who  shall  grapple  successfully  with  these 
manifold  and  strong  hostile  forces,  who  shall  root 
out  Buddhism,  andTaouism,  and  Confucianism  from 
China,  llindooism  and  Lamaism  from  the  interior 
of  the  Asiatic  continent,  and  Maho'mmedanism, 
Judaism  and  false  Christianity  from  Western  Asia 
and  luirope  ?  ^len  who  know  little  of  languages 
and  history,  little  .of  the  various  forms  and  phases  of 
literature,  little  of  science  and  pliilosophy  ?  God 
may  work  a  miracle  if  He  chooses;  but  until  He 
authorizes  us  to  expect  a  miracle,  we  have  not  the 
slightest  reason  to  expect  lie  will  convert  the  world 


17 

by  such  instnuncnts.  Thcpolished  shafts  with  which 
He  oraii.arilv  accomi)lishes  such  achicvcincnts-the 
iMstnuncnts  which  lie  has  give.i  us  reason  to  bchcve 
suit  His  purposes,  arc  formed  and  sharpened  for  Ills 
use  after  another  manner. 

111.  Admitting,  then,  that  the  Church  needs— 
especially  in  such  a  land  and  age  as  ours-for  the 
accomplishment  of  her  grand  n.i.ssion  in  human  his- 
tory, a  class  of  men  liberally  educated,  the  question 
arises,  in  the  third  place,  on  whom  must  she  depend 
to  provide  the  rc.iuisite  facilities  for  their  training  ? 
As  already  observed,  the  furnishing  of  precisely 
this  sort  of  education  is  the  object  for  which  colleges 
are  established.  The  functions  which  they  perform 
are  twofold-the  cultivation  and  advancement  ot 
the  higher  learning  in  general,  and  the  training  of 

individual  men. 

In  the  former,  they  may  be  regarded  as  standing 
witnesses,  strong    and   permanent   garri.sons   great 
licht-bearers  of  truth  and  knowledge.     Around  them 
clu'^ter  as  to  a  common  centre  all  sorts  of  scholarly 
influences.      In    their   libraries,  lecture-rooms   and 
cabinets,  all  that  is  rare  in  learning  or  significant  m 
the  products  of  nature,  or  excellent  in  human  art, 
finds  a  natural  depository.     In  their  chairs  of  science 
and  literature,  the   choice    intellects   of  the    land, 
themselves  liberally  educated,  devote  the  rase  ves  to 
the  cultivation  of  each  his  own  particular  dcpar  - 
ment;    while  the  daily  mutual  intercourse  of  such 
men,  the    geologist   and   chemist  with    the    mcta- 
physician,  the  philologist  with  the  professor  of  na- 
tui'al  history,  the  professor  of  history  or  law  with 
2 


18 

him  of  Latin  or  Greek,  the  mathematician  with  the 
professor  of  rhetoric  and  belles-lettres,  the  professor 
of  moral  science  and  practical  divinity  with  them 
all — maintains  the  liberal  character  of  every  scientific 
and  literary  specialty,  and  guards  effectually  against 
the  narrowing  tendency  of  devotion  to  departments. 
Nowhere  is  learnins:  so  cultivated  in  its  full-orbed 
beauty  and  organic  completeness  ;  nowhere  are  its 
varieties  so  displayed  in  their  unity,  or  the  crown  of 
unity  made  so  resplendent  with  all  the  gems  of  va- 
riety ;  and  nowhere  is  the  division  of  mental  labor 
made  so  available  without  the  slic^htest  discon- 
nection  or  disproportion  of  the  product.  There 
is  a  silent  influence  going  forth,  hour  by  hour,  from 
such  institutions,  of  immense  value.  The  flirmers 
and  mechanics  feel  it  as  they  come  and  go  in  sight 
of  the  collec^e  walls.  The  verv  si^^ht  of  those  walls 
stimulates  the  thirst  for  knowledge.  And  the  little 
lads,  as  they  pass  and  strain  their  eyes  up  to  the 
venerable  towers,  reminded  that  within  sits  en- 
throned the  queen  of  learning  and  what  a  beautiful 
queen  she  is,  vow  to  pay  her  their  homage  as  soon 
as  their  young  frames  shall  begin  to  acquire  manly- 
proportions.  Thus  arc  hundreds  led  to  devote  them- 
selves to  learning,  who,  but  for  the  presence  of  the 
college,  would  never  have  aspired  to  higher  know- 
ledge than  that  of  the  mechanism  of  a  shoe  or  the 
qualities  of  beeves  and  horses. 

Turn  we  then  to  the  other  function  of  these  in- 
stitutions, and  here  we  find  them  performing  a  ser- 
vice to  which  no  other  known  agency  is  competent. 
Not  that  all  who  enter  and  pass  through  a  college 


19 

actually    become  lil)orally   educated,  nor  that  libe- 
ral education,  in  some  true  sense  of  the  word,  may 
not  sometimes  be  obtained  apart   fioni  their  train- 
ing ;  but  bcH'ausc  ordinarily  there   alone  are  to  be 
found  the  facilities  and   api)liances,  the  inteHectual 
discipline,  incitement,  direction  and  controlling  in- 
fluence, which  will  carry  a  young  mind  through  the 
obstacles,  and  straight  forward   to  the  goal  of  his 
aspirations.     Into  those  quiet  retreats  the  din  and 
turmoil  of  the  world  seldom  intrude,  or  are  heard 
only  as  a  distant  ruml)ling.     The  gayeties  of  social 
life,    so    apt   to    entice    young    minds    from    fixed 
thought,  arc  reserved  chiefly  for  the  solace  of  vaca- 
tions.    The  control  of  authority  and  college   rules, 
are  just  sufficient  to  relieve  the  pressure  of  indi- 
vidual responsibility,  and  secure  the  greater  mental 
freedom.     The    curriculum    of  college   studies,   in 
which  the  student  begins  at  the  beginning  and  goes 
forward  in  regular  series  to  the  close,  has  been  ar- 
ranged Avith  special  reference  to  just  the  object  he 
is  aiming  at.     The  same  essentially  in  all  well  regu- 
lated colleges,  it  is  the  result  of  the  collected  wis- 
dom, not  of  our  own  country  only,  but  of  the  vene- 
rable universities  of  the  old  world.     And  though,  it 
is  true,  our  best  college  systems  are  as  yet  imper- 
fect, and  attention  needs   to  be    drawn   to  depart- 
ments hitherto  neglected,  as  well  as  a  higher  stan- 
dard to  be  raised  in  departments  now  deemed  im- 
portant, the  course  which  prevails  at  present  could 
not,  it  is  believed,  be  fundamentally  changed,  with- 
out serious  disadvantage  to  the  end  in  view.    There, 
in  every  department,  are  provided  the  best  facilities 


20 

for  instruction  and  illustration.  Some  of  the  best 
minds  of  the  age  come  into  direct  and  daily  con- 
tact with  the  student's  own.  The  noblest  of  the 
youth  of  his  own  age  are  brought  into  generous 
competition  with  him.  The  leading  men  of  the 
community  watch  his  progress  as  trustees  or  patrons, 
and  meet  to  witness  his  success  at  the  public  exami- 
nations or  the  annual  commencement.  A  numerous 
body  of  Alumni  sympathize  with  his  progress  and 
wait  to  welcome  him  to  their  fraternity  and  rejoice 
in  the  honor  he  confers  on  their  and  his  Alma  Ma- 
ter. And  it  is  all  his  own  fault  if,  possessing  tolera- 
ble natural  abilities,  he  does  not,  during  the  four 
quiet  years  he  spends  under  such  influences,  lay, 
broad  and  deep,  the  foundations  of  mental  culture, 
and  seize  the  keys  with  which  to  unlock  the  bound- 
less treasures  of  knowded^'e. 

But  the  question  returns  :  if  the  Church  must 
have  men  liberally  educated,  and  colleges  are  the 
proper  institutions  in  which  to  give  that  sort  of 
education,  on  whom  is  the  Church  to  depend  to  es- 
tablish and  foster  these  institutions?  They  are  not 
the  spontaneous  growth  of  circumstances.  Some- 
body has  got  to  exert  himself  Some  man  or  class 
of  men  has  got  to  supply  the  means,  and  to  supply 
them  bountifully.  And  here,  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
reply :  Tiie  Church  has  got  to  depend  upon  herself 
I  use  the  word  Church  with  no  restricted  applica- 
tion, meaning  thereby,  not  this  or  that  denomi- 
national organization,  but  the  great  body  of  the 
disciples  of  Christ,  with  those  who  sympathize  with 
them  in  the  great  mission  which  God  has  assigned 


21 

thein.  If  she  does  not  sui)ply  these  institutions  for 
herself,  slie  \Yill  either  not  hiive  them  or  not  be  able 
to  avail  herself  of  their  influenec. 

It  is  a  fact  too  well  authenticated  to  be  denied, 
that  almost  every  great  impulse  given  to  education 
in  modern  times  has  owed  its  origin  to  religion. 
Of  all  the  great  schools  and  universities  in  the 
world,  by  far  the  greater  part  were  f(junded  by  re- 
ligious men,  and  for  religious  purposes.  The  world 
at  large  are  not  insensible  (jf  the  value  of  learning, 
and  worldly  men  are  often  ready  enough  to  avail 
themselves  of  their  opportunities  to  give  their  sons 
so  valuable  a  benefit.  It  has  often  happened  that 
men  of  this  class  have  given  liberally  to  the  endow- 
ment of  colleges.  But  few  among  them  have  had 
the  forethought,  or  the  benevolence,  or  the  faith  to 
encounter  the  discouragements  of  raising  from  its 
infant  feebleness  an  institution  of  the  higher  order. 
Corrupt  or  defective  Christianity  has  had  vitality 
enough  to  do  it ;  but  infidelity  or  religious  indif- 
ference almost  never. 

And  did  the  disposition  exist,  the  Church  would 
be  exceedingly  unwise  to  leave  to  such  hands  the 
founding  and  direction  of  colleges.  The  education 
which  she  requires  for  her  purposes  is  Christian 
education,  an  education  based  and  constructed 
throughout  on  religious  principles,  one  whose  cul- 
ture shall  be  moral  and  religious  no  less  than  intel- 
lectual, and  whose  learning,  in  all  its  departments, 
shall  not  fall  short  of  those  first  principles  which  are 
to  be  found  only  in  the  attributes  and  purposes  of 
God.     The  college  which  ignores  Christianity  will 


22 

be,  to  all  practical  purposes,  an   infidel  institution. 
And  as   are  the  colleges  such  are   likely  to  be  the 
common    schools  of  the   country.     As  are  the  col- 
leges,   such    will   be,   sooner  or  later,    the   pulpits, 
such  the   prevailing  character  of  the  2:)rcss,  such  all 
the  other  great  fountains  of  popular  opinion.     Who- 
ever controls  these  institutions,  holds  the  key  to  the 
reliiiious  character  of  the  surrounding  region.    Har- 
vard, Yale,   Princeton,   Dartmouth, — these  formed, 
in  the  early   days,  our  northern   quadrilateral.     It 
was  hard  for  infidelity  or  heresy  to  get  much  foot- 
hold while  these  remained  faithful.     What  was  it 
that  made   eastern  Massachusetts  to  so  great  an  ex- 
tent Unitarian  ?     The  religious   defection  of  Har- 
vard.    What  led   the  w^ay  in  the  recovery  ?     The 
advancement  of  Williams  and  the  rise  of  Amherst. 
Yale  college  has,  for  years,  given  tone  to  the  the- 
ology of  Connecticut.     And  the  strong  Presbyte- 
rianism  of  New  Jersey  is  to  be  traced,  not  more  di- 
rectly to  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  than  to 
Princeton   college.      Over   its   own    graduates,    the 
religious  influence  of  a  college  is  hardly  less  than  of 
a  mother's  early  lessons.     Even  the  worldly  among 
them  feel  its  force.     It  abides  through  life,  and  in- 
sinuates itself  into  all  their  habits  of  thinking.     The 
opportunity    thus   oifercd    of  impressing  Christian 
truth  upon  the  minds  of  those  who  shall  hereafter 
occupy  posts  of  influence  in  the  State  and  the  secu- 
lar i)rofessions,  is  one  which  must  rcpny  tenfold  all 
the  expense  which  the  Church  must  incur  in  taking 
these  institutions  umbn-  her   ])alr()iinge.     And  then, 
there  is  the  education  of  her  own  nunisters.     Will 


23 

she  trust  to  tlic  State,  infected  as  all  its  agencies 
are,  and  must  be,  with  the  corrupt  atmosphere  of 
politics,  will  she  trust  to  any  agency  not  specifi- 
cally and  emphatically  Christian,  to  give  them  the 
most  controlling  elements  of  all  their  thinking? 
Will  she  trust  to  her  ability  to  give  that  thinking  a 
new  direction  afterward,  in  the  theological  semina- 
ry ?  It  is  the  marvellous  outpourings  of  God's 
Spirit,  in  connection  with  the  lessons  of  holy  wis- 
dom given  in  Christian  colleges,  that  is  bringing  so 
many  young  men  into  the  classes  of  these  semina- 
ries. And  were  it  otherwise,  it  might  then  be 
quite  too  late  to  give  their  minds  a  new  bias,  espe- 
cially if  the  chairs  of  sacred  science  were  all  filled, 
as  they  would  be  likely  to  be,  by  ambitious  men 
trained  themselves  in  the  same  manner.  No.  If  the 
Church  would  have  at  her  service,  and  as  the  leaders 
of  progress  in  her  noble  enterprise,  men  of  the 
right  stamp,  she  must  educate  them  herself  She 
must  have  colleges  of  her  own.  Indeed,  in  every 
aspect  of  the  case,  it  is  an  essential  requisite  of  suc- 
cess that  she  possess  the  colleges  of  the  land  and 
imbue  them  with  her  influence;  and  if  so,  then  she 
must  foinul  them.  She  must  incur  the  expense  of 
sustaining  them  ;  she  must  endow  them.  ^The  motto, 
*'  Christo  et  ecclesiai,"  and  that  still  earlier  device 
on  the  seal  of  the  first  college  ever  founded  in  our 
land,  an  open  Bible  with  Veritas  written  across  its 
sacred  leaves,  must  be  the  stamp  of  their  character 
and  the  guide  of  their  destiny. 

Thank  God  the  Cliurch  in  this  country  has  ncit, 
thus  far,  been  unmindful  of  her  privilege  in  this  par- 


24 

ticular.  Our  fathers  showed  a  pious  alacrity  to  an- 
ticipate all  others  in  the  founding  of  colleges. 
Scarcely  had  the  band  of  Puritans  in  Massachusetts 
Bav  reared  their  houses  and  their  churches  before 
they  were  at  work  breaking  ground  for  such  an  in- 
stitution. Nor  was  it  a  casual  occurrence  that  the 
theology  of  Calvin,  transplanted  to  this  unknown 
wihlerness,  began  thus,  and  has  gone  on  multiplying  , 
and  improving  institutions  of  the  same  character  at 
every  step  of  its  progress.  It  was  a  necessity  grow- 
ing out  of  its  own  nature.  The  tree  was  in  the  seed 
germ,  and  time  and  circumstances  did  but  give  it 
development.  The  faith  of  the  Gospel  is  a  vigor- 
ously intellectual,  as  well  as  emotional  and  aesthetic 
faith.  This  strong  form  of  the  Christian  faith,  this 
faith  which  more  than  all  others  grapples  with  roots 
and  lays  its  foundations  among  the  primitive  forma- 
tions of  mental  and  ontological  science,  requires 
learning,  requires  libraries  as  the  food  of  learning, 
requires  colleges  as  the  trainers  of  the  mind  to 
vigorous  and  penetrative  thinking.  Harvard  Col- 
lege was  emphatically  the  child  of  the  Churchy  and 
the  Church  nurtured  it.  Yale  was  founded  a  few 
years  later  "  from  a  sincere  regard  and  zeal  for  the 
upholding  of  the  Protestant  religion  by  a  succession 
of  learned  and  orthodox  men."  Princeton  had  its 
birth  in  a  great  religious  revival,  and  its  chief  motive 
was  to  ])rovide  men  who  should  perpetuate  the  influ- 
ence of  the  revival.  And  what  shall  we  say  of  our 
young  and  yet  struggling  colleges  of  the  West  ?  A 
touching  incident,  related  in  one  of  the  reports  of 
this  Society  respecting  one  of  them,  may  serve  as  a 


specimen  : — "  The  enterprise  was  resolved  upon  at 
the  close  of  a  meeting  for  consultation  and  piayer 
held  by  several  almost  penniless  Home  Missionaries, 
and  continued  throni^di  three  days.  Tliis  little  com- 
pany of  praying  men  then  ])roceeded  in  a  body  to 
the  intended  location  in  tlie  primeval  for(»st,  and 
there,  kneeling  on  the  snow,  dedicated  the  site  to 
the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  a 
Christian  college."  There  is  something  to  me  in- 
imitably beautiful  and  sublime  in  that  simple  inci- 
dent. When  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  shall  be- 
come the  centre  of  an  empire  second  to  none  that 
the  world  ever  saw  for  numbers  and  power,  and 
from  its  now  infant  institutions  shall  go  forth  an  influ- 
ence to  be  felt  round  the  world,  this  little  story  of 
the  founding  of  Wabash  College  will,  Idoubtnot,  take 
rank  in  respect  to  interest  with  the  story  of  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers,  or  the  oath  of  Gri'itli  in  the  land  of  Tell. 

To  assist  in  sustaining,  during  their  infant  pci'iod, 
such  institutions  as  these,  is  the  object  for  wliich 
this  Society  was  formed.  It  had  its  origin  in  a  spe- 
cial exigency.  Four  colleges  and  one  theological 
seminary,  all  of  which  had  been  prosperous,  were 
in  great  need,  and  some  of  them,  through  disap- 
pointed expectations,  on  the  verge  of  ruin.  Its 
timely  aid  saved  them  from  the  catastrophe  ;  and 
by  the  encouragement  it  has  aflbrded,  three  of  the 
number  have  already  reached  permanent  endow- 
ments, and  the  rest,  with  others  since  brought  into 
existence,  require  only  one  more  strong  and  gene- 
rous effort  to  place  them  beyond  the  need  of  de- 
pending upon  its  patronage. 


26 

Meanwhile  the  boundaries  of  the  west  have 
been  removing  fiirther  and  fartlier  from  the  eastern 
coast.  New  states  have  sprung  into  being  with  a 
startling  rapidity,  and  with  them  have  been  devel- 
oped new  Christian  activities,  and  new  demands  for 
institutions  of  learning.  Long  since  has  the  enter- 
prise of  this  Society  crossed  the  Mississippi.  Its 
fosterin":  care  has  been  extended  from  the  nei2:h- 
borhood  of  St.  Louis  within  the  borders  of  the 
Southern  States,  to  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  and  the 
beautiful  Minnehaha,  and  far  away  to  the  Pacific 
coast  in  California  and  Oregon.  And  still  its  field 
is  expanding.  Still  are  the  calls  coming  to  it  to 
rock  the  cradle  of  learning  in  Kansas  and  Nebraska, 
and  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  yet 
unoccupied  territory. 

Some  may  fear  lest  we  multiply  too  fast  these 
imperfect  nurslings.  And  doubtless  there  is  need 
of  a  wise  caution  in  this  particular.  It  is  one  of  the 
merits  of  this  Society  that  it  has  been  the  means  of 
exercisinrj  this  wise  caution.  But,  with  its  exercise, 
I  have  little  fear.  The  exigencies  of  the  present 
day  require  that  the  fiicilities  of  learning  be  brought 
to  the  very  door  of  every  newly  gathered  commu- 
nity. No  doubt,  one  or  two  great  universities, 
amply  endowed  and  amply  oflicered,  would  present 
some  decided  advantages.  But  the  time  has  not 
come  for  these  yet.  We  are  building  now  what 
seem  isolated  colleges.  But  the  occasion  may  arise 
hereafter  to  combine  them  into  a  grand  unity. 
When  we  compare  their  distances  with  the  wide 
spaces  of  the  country,  and  then  consider  the  incrcas- 


27 

ing  fiicilitics  of  intercommunication,  they  arc  scarce- 
ly more  distant  from  eacli  otlier  tlian  are  the  par- 
ticuhir  colleges  that  go  to  make  up  the  grand  old 
universities  of  Cambridge  and  Oxford,— St.  Johns, 
for  example,  from  Christ  Church,  or  Queens  from 
Jesus.  And  the  time  may  come  when  Iowa  and 
Yellow  Springs,  Beloit  and  Knox  and  Illinois,  Wa- 
bash, Western  Reserve  and  ^larietta,  may  be  united 
by  some  system  of  organization  and  intercommuni- 
cation into  one  grand  western  University,  bearing 
relations  to  the  destinies  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi somewhat  like  those  which  the  Universities 
of  England  have  borne  so  long  to  those  of  that  com- 
pact kingdom.  But  we  must  not  despise  the  day 
of  small  things. 

It  is  to  meet  the  particular  exigencies  of  such  a 
day  as  this,  that  this  Society  asks  the  co-operation 
of  the  Church  of  Christ.     She  can  point  confidently 
to  what  she  has  done,  as  an  earnest  and  evidence  of 
what  she  is  yet  competent  to  do.     Nine  noble  insti- 
tutions   on    the    east    of   the    ^lississippi,    already 
firmly  seated  in  the  confidence  of  the  country,  often 
blessed  by  the  gracious  influences  of  God's  Spirit  in 
a  remarkable  manner,  in  which  already  more  than  a 
thousand  Christian  men  equipped  for  the  Lord's  ser- 
vice have,  it  is  believed,  been  born  from  above, 
and    many  more.   Christian    ministers,   missionaries 
and  others,  have  been  prepared  to  go  forth  for  the 
redemption   of  the  world,  require   now  only   the 
small  sum  of  twenty-nine  thousand  dollars  to  place 
them  all  beyond   dependence  and  complete  the  So- 
ciety's  work  in  that  section  of  the  western  valley. 


28 

Wc  call  for  aid  from  tlic  generous  and  able  men  of 
this  old  and  thriving  community.  Shall  this  Socie- 
ty hold  its  annual  meeting  in  the  good  old  city  of 
Albany,  and  not  go  forth  strengthened  by  large  and 
liberal  accessions  to  its  working  means?  Is  tliere 
not  some  individual  in  this  assembly,  who,  by  a 
single  generous  donation,  will  take  at  least  one  of 
the  institutions  in  question  off  the  hands  of  the  So- 
ciety ?  Are  there  not  as  many  as  four  wdio  will 
take  each  his  own  institution,  and  thus  leave  the 
Society  free  to  move  its  entire  force  triumphantly 
across  the  Mississippi  ?  If  any  are  ambitious,  where 
will  they  find  a  nobler  object  of  ambition  than  to 
link  their  name  (as  are  the  names  of  Harvard  and 
Yale  and  Bartlett  linked  with  noble  institutions  of 
New  England)  with  some  promising  and  beneficent 
institution  of  learning  in  the  western  valley  ?  If 
any  are  desirous  of  doing  a  good  work  whose  in- 
fluence shall  spread  wide  and  last  long,  where  can 
they  find  a  more  fitting  opportunity  ? 

We  commend  this  cause,  brethren  and  friends, 
to  your  sympathies,  your  benefactions  and  your 
prayers.  It  is  for  no  merely  secular  purposes  that 
we  urge  forward  the  enterprise  of  founding  and 
sustaining  institutions  of  Christian  learning.  It  is 
for  the  Church's  sake  and  for  the  sake  of  her  great 
and  sublime  work  of  converting  this  fallen  world 
and  all  that  belongs  to  it,  transforming  it  by  the 
divine  energies  of  trutli;  for  tli(;  l)l(.'se^ed  I^laster's 
Bake  whose  are  the  riches  and  tlic  power,  the  ca- 
pacities and  the  allections  of  men,  and  whose  cause 
requires  just  this  class  of  iustrumeiits  for  theaccoin- 


29 

plishmcnt  of  its  purposes.  There  is  a  day  coming 
when  all  knowledge  sliall  be  seen  and  felt  to  be,  as 
it  truly  is,  the  knowledge  of  Cod  and  His  wonder- 
ful works,  and  when  all  human  powers  and  attain- 
ments shall  be  devoted,  as  they  ought  ever  to  be,  to 
the  service  of  Christ.  In  tliat  day  Christian  colleges 
will  be  among  the  most  sacred  as  well  as  beneficent 
and  pow^erful  institutions.  Their  instructors  will  be 
true  priests  of  the  living  God,  and  the  learning  and 
culture  of  tlie  land  will  be  a  sweet  incense  ascend- 
ing from  pure  hearts  to  His  throne.  AYe  work,  in 
all  our  efforts  to  establish  and  advance  them,  in  an- 
ticipation of  that  day — a  day  predicted  by  the  seers 
of  old — a  day  sure  to  come,  though  we  know  not 
how  soon,  when  the  whole  earth,  ignorant  and  be- 
nighted as  are  now  large  portions  of  it,  shall  be 
filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  as  the  waters 
cover  the  sea. 


